Death of a Salesman

This essay Death of a Salesman has a total of 677 words and 4 pages.
Death of a Salesman

4/15/00

Final Essay

The poem My Heart Leaps Up by William Wordsworth can being interpreted in many ways therefore it can be related to the play “Death of A Salesman” by Arthur Miller in a variety of ways. If the poem is broken down line by line a direct relationship can being established with play. With each line in the poem representing a certain scene or feeling during the play.

The first two line of the poem, “My heart leaps up when I behold A rainbow in the sky:” This shows how much Biff appreciates the things in nature. This is proven in the play when Biff says, “ I belong outside working with my hands on a ranch or something.” It can also be related to how Biff believes that people should do what comes to them naturally. Biff when talking to his mother Linda explains this “They‘ve laughed at dad for years, and you know why? Because we don’t belong in this nuthouse of a city! We should be mixing cement on some plain, or-or carpenters. A carpenter is allowed to whistle.” The next three lines of the poem just go to show how he has believed this to be true through out his whole life.

The line in the poem “ The child is the father of the man”; presents a major theme of the book. It describes how the roles are reversed between Biff and Willy. By the end of the play Biff the son is trying to teach Willy the father that there’s nothing special about them in the business world. Biff tells Willy “Pop! I’m a dime a dozen, and so are you!.” Willy responds with “ I am not a dine a dozen! I am Willy Loman, and you are Biff Loman” . Finally Biff put his foot down like a father would do to a son and tells Willy “ I am not a leader of men, Willy, and neither are you. You were never anything but a hard-working drummer who landed in the ash can like all the rest of them! I’m one dollar an hour, Willy! I tried seven states and couldn’t raise it. A buck an hour! Do you gather my meaning? I’m not bringing home any prizes any more, and you’re going to stop waiting for me to bring them home.” Through out the entire speech Biff treats Willy like a child he calls him by his first name and he gives him orders.

The last two lines of the poem “ And I wish my days to be Bound each to each by natural piety”. This describes how Biff tries to be like his father in some parts of his life. Biff wishes he could be as devoted to something as much as Willy is devoted to his family, and Biff loves Willy for this devotion. When Willy is slipping into another one of flashbacks and is acting strange Biff sticks up for him and says “ Miss.Forsythe, you’ve just seen a prince walk by. A fine, troubled prince. A hard-working, unappreciated prince. A pal, you understand? A good companion. Always for his boys.” Willy himself realizes how much Biff loves him when Biff cries to Willy. Willy when talking to Ben says, “ Loves me. Always loved. Isn’t that a remarkable thing? Ben, he’ll worship me for it!”

Though the poem brings out many of the major point in the play it talks mostly about Biff. The poem talks about the past, present, and future with all the changes taking place through that time. That’s why the poem mostly describes Biff since he is the only person who really changes through out the play. Willy, Happy, and Linda stay pretty much the same. While Biff realizes that his father blew him full of hot air and he’ll never get anywhere in life if he tries to be what his father wants him to be.

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